Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Other Social Media Platforms Face Ban in Nepal

Following the directive of the Honourable Supreme Court, the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal has issued a ban on as many as 26 most popular social media and communication platforms. The Government of Nepal has directed the internet service providers (ISPs) to block access to Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, X, LinkedIn, Reddit, WhatsApp and Snapchat which wouldn’t comply with the seven-day deadline to register with the government.

The Supreme Court directive order in the name of Government of Nepal to ‘mandatorily list domestic or foreign-origin online and social media platforms with the relevant authorities before operation and to evaluate and monitor unwanted content’.

To that effect, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology has a public notice which states: “All stakeholders are hereby informed that the Nepal Telecommunication Authority has been directed to deactivate social media platforms within Nepal that have not contacted the Ministry for listing within the specified time limit and to reactivate them from the same moment if they are listed”.

The Directive on Regulating the Use of Social Media, 2080 issued by the Government of Nepal mandates the registration of the social media platforms with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology as well as appointment of a local contact person and compliance officer and helpdesk to deal with complaints.

Nepal has banned popular Social Media services like Facebook, Instagram, X(Twitter), WhatsApp, LinkedIn and 21 more apps for failing to follow the recent Government’s mandate deadline.